{{Short description|Species of mammals belonging to the peccary family of even-toed ungulates}} {{good article}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Speciesbox | name = White-lipped peccary | image = White-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) Rio Negro.jpg |fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Pliocene|present}} | status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Keuroghlian, A. |author2=Desbiez, A. |author3=Reyna-Hurtado, R. |author4=Altrichter, M. |author5=Beck, H. |author6=Taber, A. |author7=Fragoso, J.M.V. |name-list-style=amp |date=2013 |title=''Tayassu pecari'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T41778A44051115 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T41778A44051115.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = CITES_A2 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=14 January 2022|website=cites.org}}</ref> | genus = Tayassu | parent_authority = Fischer von Waldheim, 1814 | species = pecari | authority = (Link, 1795) | synonyms = Of the genus:<ref name=ITIS_180724>{{ITIS|id=180724|taxon=''Tayassu'' G. Fischer [von Waldheim], 1814|access-date=2025-12-12}}</ref> {{Genus list | Dicotyles | G. Cuvier, 1817 }} Of the species: {{Species list | Sus pecari | (Link, 1795) }} | range_map = Tayassu pecari range map.png | range_map_caption=Range of the white-lipped peccary (note that the Central American part of its range is much more fragmented in actuality and that its presence in El Salvador is erroneous) }} thumb The '''white-lipped peccary''' ('''''Tayassu pecari''''') is a species of peccary found in Central and South America and the only extant member of the genus '''''Tayassu'''''.{{NoteTag|Although identified by the American Society of Mammalogists as ''Dicotyles tajacu'',<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Acosta |first1=Luis E. |last2=Garbino |first2=Guilherme S. T. |last3=Gasparini |first3=Germán M. |last4=Dutra |first4=Rodrigo Parisi |name-list-style=amp |title=Unraveling the nomenclatural puzzle of the collared and white-lipped peccaries (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla, Tayassuidae) |journal=Zootaxa |date=9 September 2020 |volume=4851 |issue=1 |pages=60–80 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4851.1.2|pmid=33056737 |s2cid=222846767 |hdl=11336/144227 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore the Database|url=https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#species-id=1006380|access-date=13 October 2021|website=Mammaldiversity.org|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028140029/https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#species-id=1006380}}</ref> some sources incorrectly describe the collared peccary as another member of ''Tayassu''.<ref name=un/><ref name= "bite force">{{cite journal|title=Bite Force as a Basis for Niche Differentiation Between Rain Forest Peccaries (''Tayassu tajacu'' and ''T. pecari'')|last1=Kiltie|first1=Richard A.|date=September 1982|journal=Biotropica|volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=188–195 |doi=10.2307/2388025 |jstor=2388025 |bibcode=1982Biotr..14..188K }}</ref>}} Multiple subspecies have been identified. White-lipped peccaries are similar in appearance to pigs, but with some distinct differences. Males don't have upward-pointing tusks, and both males and females are covered in dark hair (except on certain regions, such as the throat, where it is cream). The range of ''T. pecari'', which extends from Mexico to Argentina, has become fragmented, and the species's population is declining overall (especially in Mexico and Central America). They can be found in a variety of habitats. Social animals, white-lipped peccaries typically forage in large groups, which can have as many as 300 peccaries.
They are an important part of their ecosystem and multiple efforts are being made to preserve them in the wild. Not all disappearances are explained, but human activities play a role, with two major threats being deforestation and hunting; the latter is very common in rural areas, although it can be dangerous, as white-lipped peccaries can be aggressive. They are hunted for both their hide and meat.
==Taxonomy== The white-lipped peccary was first described by Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link in 1795 as ''Sus pecari''. It was moved into the monotypic genus ''Tayassu'' by Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim in 1814.<ref name=bucknell>{{Cite web |title=Mammal Species of the World - Browse: pecari |url=https://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=14200094 |access-date=9 May 2022 |website=www.departments.bucknell.edu}}</ref><ref name=paleobio/>
===Subspecies=== There are five recognized subspecies:<ref name=bucknell/> *''T. p. pecari'' {{small|(Link, 1795)}} *''T. p. aequatoris'' {{small|(Lönnberg, 1921)}} *''T. p. albirostris'' {{small|(Illiger, 1815)}} *''T. p. ringens'' {{small|(Merriam, 1901)}} *''T. p. spiradens'' {{small|(Goldman, 1912)}}
===Evolution=== The fossil record of ''T. pecari'' is limited.<ref name="argentina fossils">{{Cite journal |last1=Gasparini |first1=Germán Mariano |last2=Rodriguez |first2=Sergio Gabriel |last3=Soibelzon |first3=Leopoldo Héctor |last4=Beilinson |first4=Elisa |last5=Soibelzon |first5=Esteban |last6=Missagia |first6=Rafaela Velloso |name-list-style=amp |date=2 November 2014 |title=''Tayassu pecari'' (Link, 1795) (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla): comments on its South American fossil record, taxonomy and paleobiogeography |journal=Historical Biology |volume=26 |issue=6 |pages=785–800 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2013.858247 |bibcode=2014HBio...26..785G |hdl=11336/33040 |s2cid=83520280 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> It has existed since at least the Pliocene.<ref name=paleobio>{{Cite web |title=''Tayassu pecari'' Link 1795 (white-lipped peccary) |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=52099 |access-date=30 April 2022 |website=paleobiodb.org}}</ref> Fossils from the Late Pleistocene suggest a different distribution during this time, being mostly found in more southern areas (such as the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina). Based on the other species that coexisted with it during this period, the central-northern Buenos Aires Province was likely arid or semi-arid in the Late Pleistocene.<ref name="argentina fossils"/>
===Hybrids=== The white-lipped peccary is capable of producing offspring with the collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu''), another member of the peccary family. This has been recorded at the London Zoo and Manaus Zoo, but never in the wild.<ref name =wetzel>{{Cite book |last1=John J. Mayer |url=http://archive.org/details/mammalianspecies-293 |title=Tayassu pecari |last2=Ralph M. Wetzel |date=1987}}</ref>
==Description== thumb|The skeleton thumb|The head The white-lipped peccary is a piglike ungulate, covered in dark hair, which is cream on certain parts of the underside, such as the throat and pelvic regions.<ref name=wetzel/> Adult white-lipped peccaries can reach a length of {{cvt|90|–|135|cm}}. Their height is about {{cvt|90|cm}}, measured from the shoulder. They usually weigh {{cvt|27|–|40|kg}}, but can grow even larger. There is no obvious sexual dimorphism, but males have longer canine teeth than females.<ref name=un/> They possess a scent gland, which is found at the posterior middorsal region.<ref name=wetzel/>
==Distribution and habitat== The white-lipped peccary is native to Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. It is regionally extinct in El Salvador.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> White-lipped peccaries thrive in dense, humid, tropical forests. They can also be found in a wide range of other habitats, such as dry forests, grasslands, mangroves, and dry xerophytic areas, as well as the Cerrado ecoregion of Brazil.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> They range from sea level to an altitude of {{convert|1900|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> Their range overlaps with that of the collared peccary.<ref name="San Diego zoo">{{cite web|title=Peccary|url=https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/peccary|website=sandiegozoo.org|access-date=15 April 2022}}</ref>
A 2018 study found that they had disappeared from 87% of their historical range in Mesoamerica (which the study defined as everywhere between southern Mexico and Panama), and were in "critical condition" in the seven Mesoamerican countries they still inhabited.<ref name="2018 study">{{cite web|title=Rapid decline of White-Lipped Peccary Populations in Mesoamerica|url=https://c532f75abb9c1c021b8c-e46e473f8aadb72cf2a8ea564b4e6a76.ssl.cf5.rackcdn.com/2018/12/12/530rmtlszk_WLP_status_report_2018.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902203430/https://c532f75abb9c1c021b8c-e46e473f8aadb72cf2a8ea564b4e6a76.ssl.cf5.rackcdn.com/2018/12/12/530rmtlszk_WLP_status_report_2018.pdf|archive-date=2 September 2019|date=November 2018|access-date=6 March 2022}}</ref> Studies by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found similar information, with a reported decline of 89% in Costa Rica and 84% in Mexico and Guatemala.<ref name= decline>{{cite web|title=World's oldest and largest species in decline – IUCN Red List|url=https://www.iucn.org/content/worlds-oldest-and-largest-species-decline-iucn-red-list|website=IUCN|date=2 July 2013|access-date=15 April 2022}}</ref>
==Behavior and ecology== [[File:São Paulo Zoo 2018 037.jpg|thumb|left|A group in São Paulo Zoo]] White-lipped peccaries generally move from place to place in large herds. Unlike ''D. tajacu'', which travels single-file, ''T. pecari'' moves in broad groups.<ref name=un/> Group sizes can range from under ten (while uncommon, groups as small as five have been recorded<ref name= "iucn status 12 November 2021"/>) to as many as 300. Especially large groups are rarer now than they were historically, due to the declining population of ''T. pecari''.<ref name="2018 study"/> The average group size in a fragmented area of the Atlantic Forest was found to be around 42, although herds frequently come into contact with one another and interbreed.<ref name= "iucn status 12 November 2021"/> Juvenile peccaries have been found to make up no more than 20% of herds in studies.<ref name=un>{{cite web|title=Wildlife Utilization in Latin America: Current Situation and Prospects for Sustainable Management. (FAO Conservation Guide - 25)|url=https://www.fao.org/3/t0750e/t0750e0l.htm?_ga=2.107871371.863909333.1650669393-1587954361.1650669393|last=Ojasti|first=Juhani|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220115230754/https://www.fao.org/3/t0750e/t0750e00.htm|archive-date=15 January 2022|date=1996|access-date=22 April 2022}}</ref>
As mentioned previously, the range of ''T. pecari'' overlaps with that of ''D. tajacu''. This overlap is significant, with both found in similar habitats across the Neotropics. A study published in 1982 found that the former's bite force is at least 1.3 times as great as that of the collared peccary. This may help to explain how the two manage to coexist over such a large area, as the study also found that they consumed different kinds of seeds and nuts when foraging in the same area. The measured resistance of these seeds and nuts was found to be consistent with the bite forces of the two peccary species.<ref name= "bite force"/>
They can produce screaming noises and clack their teeth when they travel in herds, which allows them to be heard from hundreds of meters away facilitating "group coherence" and intimidating potential predators. In common with other peccaries, GBIF writes that "their vocal repertoire includes low-frequency barking, growling, moaning, high-pitched squealing, and tooth clacking."<ref>{{GBIF |title=''Tayassu pecari'' (Link, 1795) |id=2440993 |access-date=11 October 2022 |doi= 10.15468/39omei |language=en }}</ref>
===Feeding=== White-lipped peccaries forage for food, frequently doing so in coastal areas or near other bodies of water. Most of their diet is made up of fruit, although it is supplemented with additional foods, such as other parts of plants (which can include nuts), fungi, invertebrates (including snails), and even fish on occasion. They consume over 140 different species of plants from over 30 families across their range.<ref name= "iucn status 12 November 2021"/><ref name= wlt>{{cite web|title=White-lipped Peccary|url=https://www.worldlandtrust.org/species/mammals/white-lipped-peccary/|website=worldlandtrust.org|access-date=15 April 2022}}</ref> While not as frequently, they are also known to feed on earthworms, eggs, small vertebrates, and carrion.<ref name= "San Diego zoo"/>
===Predation=== White-lipped peccaries are an important prey for large felines.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021"/> When in large groups they can—and have been known to—drive away jaguars with their loud vocalizations.<ref name= "San Diego zoo"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Watt |first=E. Melanie |date=18 September 2020 |title=New video of peccaries mobbing a jaguar shows predator-prey interactions go both ways |url=https://massivesci.com/notes/jaguar-peccary-predator-prey-video/ |access-date=11 October 2022 |website=Massive Science}}</ref>
===Reproduction and life cycle=== ''T. pecari'' breeds year-round. The estrus cycle generally lasts about 18—21 days. After a gestation period of about 158 days, two young are usually born. They are capable of moving with the rest of the herd just hours after birth.<ref name=un/>
==Conservation== The white-lipped peccary is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. Its population is currently decreasing, despite protective measures.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> It is also listed on Appendix II on CITES and has been listed there since 1987.<ref>{{cite web|title=White-lipped Peccary|url=https://cites.org/eng/gallery/species/mammal/white-lipped_peccary.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515174327/https://cites.org/eng/gallery/species/mammal/white-lipped_peccary.html/|website=cites.org|archive-date=15 May 2021|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref>
===Threats=== The white-lipped peccary faces numerous threats. The large amount of space they require makes them very threatened by deforestation. They are highly dependent on protected areas to keep their habitat safe from human activity. When their habitat becomes fragmented, they are at more risk of being hunted by humans, as their tendency to move in large herds makes them easy to spot. Hunters can kill many at once.<ref name= wlt/> Even light hunting can be a threat in areas with limited resources and naturally lower population densities. In several areas of Brazil, seemingly healthy populations have become locally extinct. Their population has declined about 30% in the last 18 years, with current estimates suggesting a similar trend going into the future.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021"/> Unexplained disappearances have been documented in multiple areas and are suspected to be caused by disease.<ref name= decline/>
===Conservation efforts=== The white-lipped peccary already occurs in multiple protected areas, including the World Land Trust supported Güisayote Biological Reserve in Honduras<ref>{{cite web|title=Honduras|url=https://www.worldlandtrust.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/honduras/|website=worldlandtrust.org|access-date=22 April 2022}}</ref> and Manú National Park of Peru.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |author1=Patterson, B. D. |author2=Stotz, D. F. |author3=Solari, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |title=Mammals and birds of the Manu Biosphere Reserve, Peru |journal=Fieldiana: Zoology |series=New series |volume=110 |pages=1–49 |url=http://fm1.fieldmuseum.org/aa/Files/patterso/Solari_et_al_2006_Fieldiana_Zoology.pdf |access-date=23 April 2022 |archive-date=22 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322230449/http://fm1.fieldmuseum.org/aa/Files/patterso/Solari_et_al_2006_Fieldiana_Zoology.pdf }}</ref> However, that alone may not be enough to keep it alive in all the habitat types it is naturally found in. IUCN has suggested new limitations by CITES to restrict the trade of hides and pelts. Research on their population has increased in recent years, although there are still areas in need of study.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021"/> Although Peru is very active in the trading of peccary hides, which are tanned in Peru and sold to European businesses to make shoes and gloves,<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021"/> the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has worked in Peru since 1980 to keep hunting sustainable and monitor populations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Huangana|url=https://peru.wcs.org/es-es/especies/huangana.aspx|language=es|website=peru.wcs.org|access-date=24 April 2022}}</ref>
==Relationship with humans== ''T. pecari'' is frequently hunted by both the indigenous and non-indigenous residents of its habitat. Their meat, which is described by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as "white" and "abundant" is sold and consumed in rural communities, where peccaries (both white-lipped and collared) are important game animals.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021"/><ref name=un/> While easy to locate, due to their loud nature and tendency to travel in herds, white-lipped peccaries can be dangerous to hunt—they are known to kill dogs—and are typically hunted in groups. They generally stand their ground when attacked; as such, multiple individuals can be killed before the herd flees. Their scent gland is usually removed just after killing to avoid negatively affecting the taste of their meat.<ref name=un/> Peru permits their subsistence hunting in settlements with under 3,000 inhabitants.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Notes== {{NoteFoot}}
== Further reading == {{Commons category|Tayassu pecari}} * {{Cite book | last1 = Emmons | first1 = Louise H. | last2 = Feer | first2 = François | author-link = Louise H. Emmons | title = Neotropical rainforest mammals. A field guide | edition = 2nd | publisher = University of Chicago Press | date = 2 September 1997 | location = Chicago | pages = 176–177 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hzqQlALoybIC | isbn =978-0-226-20721-6 | oclc = 44179508 |ref=none}} *{{cite journal |pmid=12189800 |year=2001 |last1= Altrichter |first1 =M |title=White-lipped peccary (''Tayassu pecari'', Artiodactyla: Tayassuidae) diet and fruit availability in a Costa Rican rain forest |journal=Revista de Biología Tropical |volume=49 |issue=3–4 |pages=1183–92 |last2=Carrillo |first2=E |last3=Sáenz |first3=J |last4=Fuller |first4=T. K. |ref=none}}
{{Artiodactyla|S.}} {{Suina|S.|state=collapsed}} {{Taxonbar|from1=Q756073|from2= Q109646642|from3=Q10824139|from4=Q41153163}} {{Authority control}}
White-lipped Peccary Peccary, white-lipped Category:Mammals of Mexico Category:Mammals of Argentina Category:Mammals of Bolivia Category:Mammals of Brazil Category:Mammals of Colombia Category:Mammals of Ecuador Category:Mammals of French Guiana Category:Mammals of Guyana Category:Mammals of Paraguay Category:Mammals of Peru Category:Mammals of Suriname Category:Mammals of Venezuela Category:Fauna of the Amazon Category:Fauna of the Cerrado White-lipped Peccary Category:Taxa named by Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link